


Strangers Like Me

by leafyxthiefy



Series: Shuffled Playlist [12]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Horses, Stars, Wishes, apologies from an author, because ace taking care of a horse is adorable af, i had to change the song like twice?, magical ace, present fic, this shoulda been out long ago, universe - Freeform, with some magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 02:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9528371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leafyxthiefy/pseuds/leafyxthiefy
Summary: Ace is new… to everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DaydreamFox](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=DaydreamFox).



> Holy fuck guys! Guess who isn't dead lol.
> 
> This is actually yet another present fic, [severely overdue present fic because I am a lazy piece of shit who procrastinated a LOT. This one goes out to my dear friend DaydreamFox, who has been waiting for months Again I am sorry lol, but I'll stop stalling you.
> 
> Song / Movie: Strangers Like Me - Tarzan
> 
> Warnings: Unbeta'd
> 
> I own nothing in regards to One Piece nor any referenced media.

A terribly loud crash followed by the distressed cries of the horses woke Nami from her slumber. However, instead of freezing in fear at the foreign noises, Nami jumped out of bed and took the first weapon she could into her hands, which happened to be the lightning rod she kept around for storm season.

As quietly as she could, Nami slipped out of her room, and surveyed the house. Nothing was disturbed and everything seemed to be in it's place. Her hazel eyes went over to the fake air vent and made a note to check her savings after she dealt with the threat outside.

Slowly, Nami crossed the dew coated lawn, her bare feet padding silently across the wet grass as she neared the stables where the horses were still neighing.

Step by step she came closer to the structure until she was right before the stable door. Nami gulped back her uneasiness and took a deep breath before taking the knob into her hands and frowning when she noted that it was strangely warm.

Leaving that thought to be dealt with later on, she pushed forward and peered into the darkened stable.

Nothing.

And yet she couldn't shake away the feeling that there was something amiss in the stables; she also couldn't very well leave with the horses in a panic. Nami walked further into the barn needing to know that the coast was clear before she could move on to soothe the horses.

The cool stone underneath was luckily cleaned from any straw from her earlier chores, so Nami was extremely grateful to her past self for the lack of straw sticking to the bottom of her feet. What she was not grateful for, however, was the random horseshoe that she stubbed her toe on.

Nami hissed out a curse and immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, listening for anything or anyone that might have heard her, but the horses managed to cover up her mistake, even if they were more quiet now.

Nothing moved immediately and Nami took another step, careful to go around the horseshoe. And it was in that moment that the broomstick toppled over and Nami shrieked.

Her shout stirred the intruder though as more things fell and caused a further rukus, clanks and crashes echoed throughout the stables until finally everything settled into an uneasy all engulfing silence.

Nami swallowed hard, her hold on the lightning rod tightened and she rose it higher as she dared to walk further into the barn.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? There's nothing but horses here and only enough money for small repairs in the house, if you walk out now and leave I promise I won't swing." Nami called out, her eyes darting back and forth all over the stables.

No answer came to her from the shadows and Nami began to have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps her intruder was not someone out to rob her blind but a scared animal that sought out shelter. Still, Nami was willing to give whatever it was the benefit of the doubt to come out when she gave them a chance. So Nami counted slowly down from ten.

She reached zero and still nothing.

"Okay don't say I didn't warn you." she muttered and followed the chaos, becoming more and more convinced that the interloper was a little vermin rather than a thief.

Relief began to ease her muscles, though they were still tense. The horses too had calmed down and were snorting in the background providing a small sense of comfort to Nami. Surely the horses wouldn't be calm if there was danger present, animal intuition and all that.

Nami hoped it really was nothing to worry about, she hoped it was a little raccoon or opossum. Preferably the former though, because opossums gave her the creeps, what with their spitting and hissing; not to mention their notoriety of playing dead. One encounter with those dreadful things was enough, thank you.

Nami reached the end of the trail and promptly frowned, there was no intruder, no raccoon, opossum, dog, or even cat to speak of. Speaking of pets though, maybe she should invest in guard dog or two after this incident; perhaps it was time for her to make a decision on that.

Nami wondered if the troublemaker had slipped out while she was searching, she couldn't say for sure, but she was glad that there wasn't a bandit in her stables.

With that calming thought, Nami sighed in relief and finally let her shoulders slump and hoisted the rod onto her shoulder.

"Now let's get you two settled in for bed again." she murmured to the horses and made her way towards the lightswitch.

The horses of course only replied in snorts, with the occasional neigh. Nami had to smile at that, she always did when it came to her two lovelies.

A moment later saw the lights coming to life and Nami, yet again releasing another scream as a pair of gray eyes blinked back at her only a few spaces away.

The rod came down before Nami even knew she was swinging. However, instead of connecting with the stranger's head, the rod slammed against the stone floor and made the vibrations caused by the force of the swing to race up her arms.

Immediately, Nami gathered her bearings and with shaking hands she rose the lightning rod again only to pause. The boy she had tried to hit earlier was cowering in fear a few feet from her. He was hiding in the small swatch of shadows the stables provided, curled into a tight ball while holding his hands over his head protectively.

Nami approached him cautiously, bar still raised over her head in case she needed to swing again.

"Don't move! I swear to whatever deity you hold dear that I will knock your head off." she threatened and clenched the rod tighter.

The young man flinched and a small twinge of guilt rose in Nami's stomach. But even that wasn't enough for her to back down.

"What are you doing in my stable?" Nami questioned, her voice no longer as loud.

The boy, unsurprisingly, said nothing; and only then did Nami notice a certain detail.

"And where the hell are your clothes?!" she exclaimed.

Though the action only caused the young man to cower further, and to her utter disbelief, he began to glow.

Nami gasped and stepped back, but she did not drop the lightning rod; the piece of metal remained tightly held within white knuckled hands.

"H-how?" she spluttered.

Her intruder only flinched at her voice and Nami's guilt rose once more. He was scared, and she wasn't helping the situation by yelling at him, not to mention the rod she was brandishing.

Nami contemplated her choices, weighing the possibilities of hitting him over the head and knocking him out before calling the police station or?

"Gotta name?" Nami asked lowering the rod slightly, but still keeping it between her and the other.

The dark haired man said nothing, those wide gray eyes looking at Nami with such a frightened and confused expression that she finally lowered the rod fully.

"Despite what I said, I'm not going to hurt you." Nami said with a light sigh and when he didn't move she smiled gently. "If it helps, I'm sorry but you scared the crap out of me and the horses."

A silent stare was her only response, and Nami pressed her lips together in a thin line, unsure of just how to proceed with the situation. What should she do? She wondered and when a light breeze made her skin rise with goosebumps she knew what she could do; or rather attempt.

"C'mon, let's get you somewhere warmer, and see if I can find you a some clothes." Nami said in the gentlest of voices she could, extending her hand to him, slowly as to not startle him like she had the previous times before.

Gray eyes looked uncertainly from her face to her hand for a long moment before long fingers reached out hesitantly, and retracted. He repeated the action twice more before finally settling his hand in her palm.

Nami suppressed a gasp of shock when her hand touched his. His hand was unnaturally warm, not to the point where it was unbearing or uncomfortable, but enough for Nami to notice. Adding it to her list of questions for the night, she helped the stranger up and after a quick check on Belle and Mandarin, she made her way back home.

No matter what she tried, Nami could not get a single word out of the other. She had taken him into her house, given him a fresh pair of clothes that she had meant to burn a while back… they belonged to a certain red haired devil from the past. She then gave him water, which he had spent a good amount of time looking at before he gulped it down greedily and in excess, Nami had to cut him off after his fifth cup of water. The expression he gave her was puzzled and slightly betrayed, so Nami gave him a peach to eat, which he again examined before anything else.

Nami didn't know what to make of the situation. She really had no clue as to what was happening. A guy showed up out of buttfuck nowhere, seemingly mute or highly shy to the point where he refused to speak; and to top all it off, he fucking _glowed_.

Nami sighed and ran her hands through her hair, she really needed to cool down on the cursing, even if it was internally. She couldn't help it sometimes, it was her way with coping.

"Ace."

Nami's head jerked up, her gaze landing on the dark haired youth with wide gray eyes. "Excuse me?"

He blinked slowly, then his hand raised to point at himself. "Ace."

"Ace? Is that your name?"

_Whatever you do, I'll do it too_

_Show me everything and tell me how_

Instead of nodding though, he looked confused and Nami thought he also looked sort of miffed. He looked at his hand for a second and then pointed in her direction, "Ace?"

Nami was confused too, but soon her mind caught up with what was happening.

"Oh! Oh no, my name's Nami." she elaborated tapping a finger to her chest.

Ace, she guessed was his name, narrowed his eyes at her, his mouth moving but otherwise not saying anything she was able to hear. He gave this a couple more tries before he spoke again, "Na...mi… Nami?" it was phrased more like a question.

Nami had to smile though, but she nodded when he looked at her expectantly. "Yeah, that's right. I am Nami."

Ace beamed for a second before his smile turned to a thin line, and that puzzled look returned. "'m Ace?"

"Ace is a nice name, do you have a last name?" she asked, letting curiosity get the best of her.

"Am Ace." he stated proudly, repeating the name over a few more times. Nami prompted him to answer more questions, his last name, birthday, hometown, age, anything he could remember.

However, it seemed that that was all he was able to tell her. His name.

Eventually, though he fell silent and Nami looked over to see him nodding, eyes slipping closed only to snap back open when he came to a dangerously close encounter with the table. Nami should've guessed that he was either going to be or was sleepy, but that wasn't exactly the first thing she had taken into consideration when taking the stranger into her house. She had been too preoccupied with other aspects of his behavior. She did have a spare room though, and luckily for Ace, it was unoccupied and had been cleaned a few weeks ago.

Nami helped Ace out of his seat and explained that she was moving him to where he could rest. She wasn't able to tell if he understood her or not, but he didn't fight her guiding, nor did he protest, and she took that as a good sign.

Five minutes later, he was tucked into bed and she had turned off most of the lights, leaving the one on the hallway on in case he needed to relieve himself of the gallon of water he had drank earlier.

Nami herself couldn't make herself go back to sleep, she just couldn't wrap her mind around the whole situation. There were so many questions in her mind for her to get a good night's sleep. And she wasn't entirely sure if she could sleep soundly with whoever that was only a few feet away.

Nami didn't know a single thing about Ace, other than that being his name, probably; what if he was some escaped convict and was waiting for the opportune moment to kill her in her sleep? Nami knew the idea was far fetched, but she couldn't dismiss the possibility after that night long horror movie marathon she had had with Law and Nojiko a couple of weeks back.

Ace looked earnest enough, in his confusion, his… uncertainty about things. He seemed like someone who had woken from a dream to find out that he was now amongst things that he had never known, and the way that he spoke, well it just reminded Nami of curious children.

The night passed by Nami in slow progression and by morning break she was back on her feet after a quick shower and change of clothes. She managed to scrounge up another set of mix matched clothes for Ace from her _burn_ pile and set them at the foot of his bed before starting breakfast.

She sighed when she looked into the refrigerator and took stock of the cabinets, she hadn't been expecting much company so she had neglected going to the store earlier that week. Nami cursed under her breath and after placing on her apron, she got to work, placing all of her culinary skills to the test.

Nami was in the middle of flipping the second stack of pancakes when the same voice from the previous night spoke. "Thank you."

Nami, although startled, managed to catch the pancake before it fell to the floor and looked up to see the man from earlier that night standing sheepishly at the door.

"You're… welcome. Hungry?" She asked and motioned to the variety of dishes she had prepared: scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Food! Yes!" he said with a wide smile as he looked over everything and then looked back at Nami. "But what is it?"

Nami bit the inside of her cheek before she blurted out, _you're kidding, right?_ Instead she nodded and turned the pan off, settling the last batch of pancakes on the table. "Breakfast, you know eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, and orange juice, or would you like some water?"

Ace nodded along to her pointing finger and repeated the foods and drink. "Okay, and no, I want to see what a color tastes like."

"A color?" Nami asked and snorted not maliciously so, "No, not orange as in the color. Orange as in the fruit." she explained and pulled an orange from the basket she had picked that morning.

"Like these." she said and tossed one over to him, which he caught effortlessly and looked it over before sniffing at it cautiously.

"I see. Oranges are fruits too." Ace muttered and glanced over at Nami, a light blush tinting his cheeks as he ducked his head, hiding behind the unruly mass of dark hair. "You have questions, I can… see them? Maybe _see_ isn't the right word, more like I know they're there.. If that makes any sense."

_It all means something_

_And yet nothing to me_

"None, actually." Nami confessed and motioned to a stool for him to sit on. "But you aren't wrong, I do have questions, which you can try to answer over breakfast. Starting with who are you, Ace?"

Ace shuffled over to where Nami was and took a seat. "I'm Ace." he said with a grin and began to pile his plate.

"We established that already, but that's not what I meant. I just found you last night in the…" Nami trailed off as she saw Ace effectively stuff three pancakes down his throat and continue eating as if nothing was odd about the action. "Were you on drugs?"

Ace paused, a fork full of ham a few inches from his mouth as he leveled his gaze to Nami's. "Drugs?"

"You were naked in my horse stable, you had no idea where you were, and you weren't exactly this articulate. Hell, the only thing you could tell me was that Ace was your name, and now you're eating as if this is the last meal you'll ever have. If you were on drugs it's on you man, personally I'm not gonna tell you it's fine or bad, but maybe whatever trip you had is still going." Nami explained before taking a sip of her orange juice.

Ace's fork lowered and settled eerily silent on the plate. "Drugs don't sound good, are they fruits too?"

Nami sighed and set her head down on her open palm. "Do you seriously not know wha–No, drugs aren't fruits, but fine. Let's say for a moment that I believe you don't know what drugs are, or orange juice, or breakfast for that matter. Then what do you know? How did you end up in my barn? Where did you come from?"

"I know that I'm Ace..." He started and when Nami looked up again, she saw he was intensely focused on his plate. "And... Nami?"

Nami hummed in question. But when Ace didn't continue, she sighed and answered verbally. "Yes, Ace?"

"Why don't I know anything?" he asked so lowly that she was almost unsure if she had heard him right and when he didn't take any other initiative to speak, Nami decided that she had in fact heard those words

_I can see there's so much to learn_

_It's all so close and yet so far_

"Your guess is as good as mine at this point really, but there must be _something_ you remember?" Nami pressed, going on to add, "Friends, family? Last name at the very least."

When Ace looked down at his food again, Nami knew that there were no answers in his mind, he was as clueless as to who Ace really was as she was.

"Well, think on it. We don't need to talk about that now. Tell you what, since it looks like you have no place to go I'll let you stay _on_ the condition that you help me out with a few things, deal?"

Ace glanced up from his meal, swallowing the last of his food, his gray eyes blinked thoughtfully before he asked, "Does this mean I am home?"

"Why would–This isn't–" Nami stuttered becoming suddenly flustered with the look he was giving her. She _couldn't_ bring herself to say 'no' exactly, but she was also unwilling to tell this complete stranger that he could make her home his too.

"Do you want seconds?" she asked instead pushing her unfinished plate towards him, which he took gratefully and relieved her from his intense stare.

* * *

_I see myself as people see me_

_Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there_

After his second meal, Nami found him some boots and lead Ace outside to where she began to instruct him on their cores for the morning.

Ace marvelled at the person before him, paying more attention to what she was showing him in her demonstration than what she was saying.

"Now you try it." the words brought Ace back to full attention as he looked from her hazel eyes down to the pointed thing she was holding out to him. After a pause Ace's hand reached out and took the wooden pole into his grasp. It was heavier than he had anticipated, but not overly so, he was able to wield it without a problem. Ace held the pointed side to the floor and did as he was shown, mimicking the way Nami had used the tool to scoop up the hay on the barn's floor.

"Very good, now you keep doing that while I get the fresh hay, okay?" Nami broke him out of his rhythm for a moment and Ace smiled, nodding in agreement. As soon as he saw that Nami was satisfied with his answer, Ace went back to work.

_I wanna know, can you show me_

_I wanna know about these_

_strangers like me_

The day dragged on in this sort of pattern, Nami showed him around the place he had woken up in–which she called a barn–and the surrounding area where more things needed to be done. She explained things to Ace, such as what a hammer was, the types of vegetables and fruits she grew on the farm and she introduced him to the creatures that were making all the noises the previous night. With a light in her hazel eyes, Nami introduced Ace to Mandarin and Belle–which she called an American paint horse and a gray Spotted Shire horse.

Ace looked over the creatures she called horses and though he knew nothing about the species she identified them as, he decided that they were fairly similar, even if one was significantly taller and stockier. Horses, Ace decided were animals he liked.

_Tell me more, please show me_

_Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

Ace didn't remember anything on that day. Nor the next where they visited a thing Nami called a market. If Ace was amazed with the farm and all it had to offer the day before, he was blown away with everything he witnessed at the open space where people walked from one booth to another and looked over fruits, vegetables, meat, tools he had learned to use and others he had no idea what to do with.

Ace asked many questions, and Nami answered as patiently as she could, though she did get frustrated from time to time, but all in all she took the time to explain things to Ace. Her lessons went from trivial topics like what purpose showers served to what a day, week, and month were.

Ace's perception of time was not like Nami's, he had learned over the time he had spent with her. The changes in the sky she called day and night seemed to pass him in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it he had been staying with Nami for over a period of time she called a month.

Thirty days and as many nights also didn't help Ace's memory conundrum. He still couldn't recall any details of himself, other than the fact that he was someone named Ace. And when Nami questioned him as to why he didn't know simple things such as what a pen and the alphabet were, Ace had no answers. Imagine his surprise when he learned that everything he could say vocally could also be translated to paper.

Ace mastered the english alphabet in an afternoon and Nami was stunned, he could feel it. But she was also weirdly proud of him, which made Ace elated. And on that day he glowed again.

_Every gesture, every move that she makes_

_Makes me feel like never before_

Nami was as tough as she was sweet, when Ace ate too much, she solded him. And when he did things he was not supposed to, like take his shirt off in town and the open market, she hit that back of his head in a gesture that both hurt and made him laugh. He knew there was no malicious intent in the gesture, so Ace always felt safe with Nami, despite the small flares of temper.

Nami became a constant in Ace's life, and he in hers. And soon, Ace felt like he had known Nami for most of his life, he was aware that his sentiment was an odd feeling. But he also knew there was truth to his emotion. There was something about Nami that just drew him in, her laugh, voice, smile, her eyes, and the way she tended to her two horses as well as the other domesticated animals on the farm was just so soothing to Ace. It was warm and inviting and he found himself observing Nami for unknown amounts of time.

At night too when she slept, Ace would listen in on her emotions, finding her peaceful slumber comforting. He himself didn't sleep as regularly as she did. Instead he dropped out of consciousness in random intervals, which caused worry in Nami. Later she told him she suspected he had narcolepsy, a somewhat common disorder in people that made them sleep randomly. Ace had shrugged and told her not to worry, he was fine and he supposed his body needed rest from time to time, so a few minutes of this narcolepsy wasn't so bad.

_Why do I have_

_This growing need to be beside her_

It was Ace's turn to brush out Belle's mane and coat one afternoon, the large brush was bigger than his hand but it was perfect for the huge draft horse.

Ace slid the dandy brush along the gray coated frame of the animal and settled into his little routine. When Ace brushed out either Belle or Mandarin he tended to get so caught up on the act that he forgot nearly everything around him, and tuned into the calming thoughts of the horse.

The horses exuded a light pleasant feeling when they were brushed. Belle especially, they were both well tempered horses but Belle was more gentle than his barn mate. Ace could spend afternoons just brushing away at the horse, and Belle never minded, he liked both the attention and the routine. And Ace could see why, since their sessions always left the horse with a cleaner coat and helped Belle rid himself of the excess fur.

And it was like this that someone found him, Ace murmuring softly to the horse in a soothing tone as the dandy brush stroked along the horse's broad sturdy shoulders.

"A-ha! So _you're_ the mysterious stranger I've heard next to nothing about." An unfamiliar voice had Ace jumping in place to spin and come face to face with a woman with light blue hair and an unnerving gaze.

Unnerved by the intrusion in his space, Ace took a few steps back from the woman, who thankfully remained where she was, but the expectant look remained in her eyes, questioning and imploring in a way that made Ace rather uncomfortable.

"So, what's your story guy? Broken home, abusive parents, drug abuse, theft, public menace, anger issues perhaps?" she asked with a quirked brow.

"I… n-excuse me?" Ace managed out which apparently seemed to be the wrong response to answer with.

"I'm asking what your deal is. What is your damage?" Her eyes narrowed and Belle snorted behind Ace as he too felt the tension rise around him.

"I'm… fine?" Ace said more in question than anything, unsure of just how to respond to the hostile situation he was finding himself in.

The blue haired woman snorted, her teal eyes unwavering as she took a step forward and he took a step back, pressing firmly onto Belle's side. Ace wasn't sure what was unfolding between him and the strange woman before him, but she was regarding him with a fierce look he was not at all comfortable with as she sized him up, looked him over from head to toe until her eyes finally settled on his.

"You certainly are her type you know, well built. A couple years older than her. But you don't quite fit the bill until you fess up what you're hiding. How are you broken? Nami has a weakness for your type, you know. The guys that she thinks she can fix up and put back together. So c'mon, what's wrong with you?" the woman asked after a long pause.

Ace, however, was unsure of just what to say, much less do in the situation he found himself in. No one in the village ever looked at him the way this person was analyzing him, and sure they had asked about where he came from and all that before, but never like this. Ace wasn't broken… was he?

"I…" Ace's hand was clutching the dandy brush tighter with every passing second, his mind spinning as he tried to find a possible way that he could respond the way Nami had taught him.

_Be nice to others_ she had said, _Do unto others as you would have them do unto you._ Be nice to your friends and your neighbors, and everyone. That was the lesson Nami had taught him, but he had never experienced this with Nami, this unpleasantness, this feeling of… oddness. Ace didn't like it.

"You what?" She snapped impatiently and the dandy brush in Ace's hand creaked with the pressure it was being forced to endure.

"I swear to you that if you are taking advantage of my little sister by making her take care o–"

"Nojiko?" Nami's voice made the stranger look away from Ace and that was all he needed in order to escape her pinning gaze.

Ace bolted, the brush and horse abandoned where he had stood seconds ago. He had heard Nami call after him in the distance, but Ace was… he didn't like the new woman. He was _scared_ , just as he had been so long ago when he met Nami.

* * *

"Guy sure can run." Nojiko noted, hands crossing across her chest.

"What did you say to him?" Nami asked whirling in her sister's direction after watching Ace retreat.

Nojiko shrugged a shoulder. "Same as all the others, what do they want with my baby sister. It's not my fault he's skittish."

Nami resisted the urge to groan. Nojiko couldn't have known that Ace was still rather new with people even after so many months of living together. And though he did enjoy meeting new people, no one in town came on as strong as her sister did when it came to Nami.

"It isn't like that, Nojiko. Ace is just…" Nami paused, not quite sure of what word to use in order to describe Ace's strange behavior. After some thought, she settled on. "Sensitive."

"Is that what you're calling them now?" Nojiko sighed, her arms loosening but not lowering. "When will you learn that you can't fix them all Nami, remember what happened with Kid?"

"How can I forget?" Nami snorted rolling her eyes, "But this isn't the same as Kid, Kid was an asshole I never should have looked twice at. Ace is nothing like him, he's different."

"Really now," Nojiko was unimpressed. "Is that what he told you? Did he also promise you the same thing as _them_?"

Nami frowned and broke eye contact in order to pick up the discarded dandy brush from where Ace had dropped it and continued to brush Belle, who was starting to become agitated with the hostility around him.

"He didn't tell me anything Nojiko, I just know he's different okay? He isn't like the other guys I have been with, he isn't like Sanji, Lucci, or Absalom and he is certainly nothing like Kid." Nami said as she turned her back to her sister and began to brush Belle where Ace left off.

"How?" Nojiko demanded and Nami had a sneaking suspicion that she would have rounded Belle if the horse wasn't so tall. "How is he any different from Kid and the rest?"

"Just trust me Nojiko." Nami breathed.

But it seemed like her sister wasn't about to back down just yet.

"Nami," Nojiko started, tone softening. "Sweetie, your heart is just too big for your own good. You always manage to find a guy who is jaded and hurting and for some reason you place it on yourself to try and fix them. And while I admit that you have helped some people get back onto their feet, it isn't healthy. They have taken advantage of your kindness before, what makes you think that this one guy is different? Tell me the reasoning behind your judgement and I might just back off."

"Well first off. We aren't even romantically involved." Nami said after a pause. "And I know what I do, let's hop off memory lane shall we. I know that I shouldn't have gotten wrapped up in Kid and Absalom and the others, but I'm not dating Ace, I just took him in.

"That night I found him in the barn, you should have seen it Nojiko, he was scared. He didn't have a clue as to where he was. I even took him to get checked out, he was clean, no drugs in his system. Genzo thinks that he suffered from amnesia or something, he can't remember anything but his name, no relatives friends, addresses, his mind is blank in all of that. And it's kind of hard to believe because he's smart, like unbelievably smart, do you know how many languages he has been able to learn in the past couple of months." Nami informed her sister and when she looked up she was surprised to see Nojiko regarding her with an odd look.

"So, you're telling me he just showed up here, no wallet, no phone? Nothing?" Nojiko pressed.

Nami gave a tired sigh, glancing away from her sister to tend to Belle. "None, we even published an ad asking if anyone knows anything, so far we haven't had any luck. And that's why he's staying Nojiko, because he needs a home, somewhere he can feel safe."

"Just like we did." Nojiko murmured, and Nami knew that she had won her sister over, at least for the meantime.

"Okay fine." Nojiko spoke up again, "I see your point and though I am not 100% aboard the idea that a total stranger stays here with you, I'll support your decision…" she relented and then tilted her head to the side in question. "Think he's smarter than Law?"

Nami grinned, "I'd bet on it."

"I'd have to see that to believe it, any idea where he ran off to?"

Nami hummed and instead of offering up the information, she tossed Nojiko the dandy brush. "I have a clue, but let me talk to him first, he's not used to… intense conversations."

Nojiko opened her mouth to protest, but after a second, she relented and sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll finish up here, tell him I'm sorry."

Nami smiled and gave her sister a nod.

* * *

When Nami found Ace he was on the second level of the barn, a worn and weathered dictionary on his lap.

The book was open to a particular page, and Ace had re-read the definition over a dozen times.

"Broken; adjective, having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order. Or it can be relating to a relationship that has been terminated. Or to a promise that has not been upheld by one or more participating parties. Disrupted or divided. And it can relate to a person, who has given up all hope; a person who is despairing." Ace looked up to Nami when she approached, her emotions were unclear and hard for him to read in that moment, but he was able to pick out one above all of them; concern.

"Am I broken Nami?" Ace asked, "Am I fractured or damaged? Because I feel fine, and I am not despaired… am I?"

Nami sighed and after a moment she sat next to Ace. "No Ace, you're not broken, fractured or damaged, and you are definitely not hopeless. You're just…" she sighed.

"That was Nojiko," Nami changed tactics. "She's my older sister, and she was just being overprotective of things. I told her I had a guest when I spoke to her the other day, and since I don't always have a great choice of company she thought it would be a good idea to check up on me and scare you in the process. I'm sorry about that Ace, are you okay?"

Ace took in the information he was given and did his best to comprehend it. He remembered Nami talking about Nojiko before, her sister. And sisters were people that belonged to your family, like mothers, fathers, and brothers. That of course had prompted a series of questions from Ace who wondered if he had any family. Nami didn't have an answer and later on confirmed that she and Ace were not related.

"If I'm not broken then I guess I'm okay. What was your company like?" Ace asked glancing to Nami and away from his book.

Nami didn't answer and Ace could feel that she was struggling with the answer. Hurt, shame, and anger whirled in her emotions and Ace didn't know what he could do to make them vanish.

_Ooo, these emotions I never knew_

_Of some other world far beyond this place_

"They weren't good people," Nami finally said, "my _friends_ were people that were not nice and they hurt others."

Ace was having enough trouble with wrapping his head around the entire concept of that day's event and adding this new conundrum to the mix was by no means helping him out. What did bad people have to do with him? "But you're nice, why would you be friends with bad people... Did they hurt you?"

Nami gave Ace a faint smile and shook her head. "That was in the past, I am no longer friends with those people so they can't hurt me. Nojiko is just being cautious, really. Did she scare you?"

Ace believed Nami when she said she was no longer in contact with the people who were not nice to her, but her avoidance of his question to her being hurt left a hole in the pit of his stomach that he did not like. Ace didn't push the matter, though, he could tell that the subject was not an easy one for Nami and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her.

Instead Ace nodded to her question. "I was afraid, and confused. Nojiko said I was broken, but I don't _feel_ broken and you say I'm not. So then what am I?"

Nami smiled softly and hummed at Ace's question. "You're just you silly. You're fine, a little lost still, but in good health. Would you like to come out and let Nojiko apologize, she realized what she said was not nice and she would like to say she's sorry."

Ace did not like the prospect of going outside of the barn and actively going in search of Nami's sister, but he could feel the small glimmer of hope within Nami. She wanted Ace to meet her sister and for them to get along. And Ace wanted to make Nami happy again, he wanted to get her spirits up again and see her smile once more. So Ace swallowed his uneasiness and nodded slowly. "Okay."

_Beyond the trees, above the clouds_

_I see before me a new horizon_

* * *

Neither Ace nor Nojiko had taken to each other quickly after that, it took several meetings before they were able to be comfortable around one another, particularly in Ace's case. During her first few visits, he would often hide behind Nami, speak only when he needed to, and when Nojiko made eye contact with him, Ace would get nervous and often flee the scene.

Soon enough Ace had gained confidence in himself, and he relied less and less on Nami when it came to social interactions with others. Well, that didn't include his first introduction to her brother, Law. Now that had been another frightening meeting altogether.

And as his confidence grew, Ace was able to go to the market by himself and was trusted to stay on track with his chores without Nami needing to tell him what to do. Ace really was beginning to feel like he was part of the small community he had been adopted into long ago, even if he still didn't know where he had come from.

_I wanna know, can you show me_

_I wanna know about these strangers like me_

That particular information still eluded both him and everyone in the town. The people had reached out to the nearby islands in search of information and even the larger city that was a few hours away from their coast, but nothing arose. There were no news reports of a missing teen that matched his description.

Ace had seemed to appear out of nowhere with no past or memories. He had simply stepped out of thin air and though he knew it puzzled Nami he couldn't explain it. Ace had no memories of his prior life.

At least he hadn't until some time later.

Two years had passed since his arrival on Nami's farm, and in that time Ace had learned so many things. He had learned of the advancement of people and society, he had sampled every language he could get his hands on, and he had tested the waters of every subject the local school taught–Nami enrolled him in classes since he had been unable to tell her things people his age should know.

Ace had grasped each subject well enough, and some better than others, mathematics was simple enough until you reached a certain level, and science was interesting as well, but there were too many branches that just didn't catch his attention the way astrology did. Literature was fun as well, but Ace was quick to lose focus and let his mind wander away from the text. He excelled at foreign languages, but he really didn't pursue a single one to focus on. Social studies was his least favorite, learning about the ways of the world was interesting in it's own right, but learning of the dark side of humanity was no fun at all. And his overall favorite subject became something they called art classes.

Ace and his professor at the time found that he had a natural talent. So Ace honed in on that skill, and that became his primary concern when he was in his classes, and pretty soon he was incorporating his love of astrology in his pieces.

When Ace had learned what was apparently sufficient for someone of his age, he took a test that gave him a document that said he was well learned. Nami had explained that with that piece of paper he could become whatever he wanted to be.

"Can I stay here with you?" Ace asked when she had told him that.

Nami had looked stunned and her cheeks had gained that soft pink tone as she often did when Ace said something that she seemed to–well to be honest, Ace hadn't exactly figured out why her cheeks seemed to glow with pink. Maybe she glowed like he did? Even though she often said that she didn't glow in the same way he did, she often told him that his glow was special and he shouldn't show it to others because then they would ask questions neither of them could answer.

Ace had of course complied, he would do anything for his best friend, and as long as he didn't get too overly excited about things, Ace didn't glow.

To be quite honest, he only glowed in front of Nami, and that was when he was feeling particularly strong emotions.

"Of course you can." Nami interjected his thoughts, "I just meant that you could now try to apply for college or a university or something to get a degree in something you want to learn."

"But, I like it here, I would like to stay here… if that's okay." Ace asked, from what he had learned of college and university was that they were larger schools and institutions that taught people essential skills for certain job fields, but more often than not they required relocation. And seeing as to how the island had no such institutes, Ace was not particularly fond of the idea of leaving Nami to be surrounded by a million strangers.

"That would be entirely okay Ace." Nami assured him and smiled, "Belle and Mandarin would miss you alot if you left too."

Ace beamed at that, he had become close to the horses in his time with Nami and them, and he still very much enjoyed taking care of them and giving them their daily brushes, so of course he would miss them too, but there was something that was bugging him too.

"Would you miss me, Nami?" Ace asked softly.

The pink glow returned to Nami's face and she was quick to answer. "Of course, you dork! Why wouldn't I miss you? You've… I really care about you Ace, we all do."

"Then this is where I will stay." Ace declared with a smile that rivaled even the sun. "Because I care about you too Nami, and I would really miss you, and Mandarin and Belle. Even Nojiko, Law, and old man Genzo."

Ace was surprised with a hug after that, but he returned it happily, glowing softly as he did so.

_Tell me more, please show me_

_Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

"Ace?" Nami asked as she peeked out of the attic window, looking for the freckled man, "Are you out here again?"

Ace turned his head away from the night sky where the stars twinkled back at him, one in particular burning brighter than the rest. "Yes, I'm here." he answered after a minute.

Nami didn't answer him, instead she climbed out of the window and onto the roof where he was sitting, and took a seat next to him, "Whatcha doing up here all alone, dinner's gonna get cold and someone has to eat it you now."

"I know. I'm sorry I should have known it was earlier." Ace apologized somberly.

The tone must've taken Nami by surprise, because her own voice softened when she spoke next. "Hey Ace, don't worry about it, dinner is no big deal, we can heat it up when you're ready. Are you okay?"

Ace turned away from the sky and looked down to the person he had come to care deeply about. His constant companion in the new life he had been give. "I'm fine." he murmured and looked away, down to where the barn was.

_Come with me now to see my world_

_Where there's beauty beyond your dreams_

"Nami, would you hate me if I wasn't like you?"

Nami didn't answer, at least not right away, and that alone scared Ace, though he was not so eager to admit it, silence between them was usually not so bad, but when he was anxious, it seemed to stretch on forever and that gnawed on his nerves. It was quickly becoming too much, this unresponsive atmosphere, that he almost took it back, but before he could a soft smack landed on his head.

"Don't scare me like that Ace. You dork, you aren't like me or anyone else I know, no one's the same here or anywhere. I thought we went over that the longest time ago? No two people are the same. Where is this coming from, Ace?" she asked while she pulled her legs closer to herself and settled her chin on her raised knees.

Ace absently ran a hand along the soft tap to his head, it hadn't hurt or anything like that, but he wanted something to occupy his hands as he deliberated how to string along his next words. There was no evading it, and if he put it off, it wouldn't feel right to him. So Ace opted to tell her the truth. "I remembered something."

Nami didn't cuff him again, but she also didn't jump up in glee. Ace hadn't known how she would react, really he just wished that she wouldn't abandon him for what he was, that was all he asked. "What do you remember?"

The question was simple and to the point, Ace had to admire that for a second before he looked back up to the stars, avoiding looking at Nami.

"I'm not from this island, or the planet really."

_Can you feel the things I feel_

_Right now, with you_

Silence returned between them and Ace dared to look at Nami again, but it was she who was looking at the stars then.

"Tell me?" She asked, "What you remember, I mean."

"It sounds ridiculous, I'm not even sure it's possible." Ace said, losing the slightest bit of courage as he thought about the memories that until that point stopped being hazy and became a part of him.

"Ace," Nami smiled softly, "nothing about the last two years has been remotely possible. Your sudden appearance for starters, and then there's the fact that you glow, and are able to just _sense_ feelings, which is still weird by the way. Not to mention that you're basically a linguistic genius. For someone who had no prior knowledge of languages you are pretty darn good at it now, and dude have you seen your list of accomplishments? Nothing about it is normal, but that's okay." She had turned to look at Ace by that point, offering him an encouraging smile.

_Take my hand_

_There's a world I need to know_

Ace smiled gratefully and let the tension slip out of his shoulders, Nami's words eased his uncertainty and the sincerity he felt radiating off of her gave him the light push he needed. "I was born as a star." he whispered, letting it sink into her as well as himself.

_I wanna know, can you show me_

_I wanna know about these strangers like me_

The images played before his eyes as he retold his story. "While I was in a literature class, we came across an old myth that said people thought that their ancestors died and were reborn as the stars above. Other lore says that the Gods were the ones that made the stars and they were meant to represent history's greatest heroes. And science says that stars are nothing more than burning balls of gas burning millions of lightyears away. Truth is, there is no real lore to them, or a way to explain what they are. Stars aren't people, they are… guardians in a way. We watch over people from above, that's where the myth of wishing upon a star came to be. A person from this planet wished on someone up there, and that star heard their desire and helped them out. We can't grant every wish, unfortunately, there is only so much we can do. I see now why languages are easy to me. How can they not be when you travel the world every day." Ace smiled sheepishly.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here…" Nami mused. "Did someone wish for you to be here? Were you supposed to grant someone's wish in the time you were here? And what happens when you fulfill that wish, Ace? Will you be returning to…?" She trailed off and looked to the sky above them once more.

_Tell me more, please show me_

_Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

"No." Ace said softly, "No one wished me here, I actually," he rubbed the back of his head once again. "I'm not leaving Nami, well at least I hope I won't. But I suppose that depends on you."

"Me?" Nami asked, confusion lacing her voice as she looked to Ace. "Why would that depend on me?"

"Because, I fell for you." Ace said.

Nami stared at Ace for a long moment before her face lit up, not pink but red this time and she delivered yet another cuff to his head. "Quit messing around Ace!"

Ace laughed, rubbing at his head again, "I'm not messing around Nami, I mean it. No one wished on me, I wished on myself, because I wanted to get to know you. It gets lonely up there you know, yeah there's other stars but as time goes on, we drift from one another and then we are all alone in our sectors of the universe. And in the time that I was up there, I met you once. Well, sort of." he smiled softly.

"It was one summer before the barn incident, you were brushing Mandarin and you looked just as lonely as I was. I wanted to help, and I hoped that you would make a wish to make the loneliness go away. But you didn't. You seemed resigned to being alone up here, just you the horses and trees. So I wished upon myself to fall and… well you know the rest."

Nami was silent for a good minute before she sighed, "And what exactly were you hoping you'd accomplish?"

Ace took a moment to think on her question. "I was hoping that I could get rid of the loneliness in your life, and that you would have an easier time smiling. And you do now, you smile more Nami." Ace gave her his biggest smile.

"And since I'm being honest here, I wanted to see you smile too."

"What about being a star or whatever, aren't you going to miss that?"

Ace hummed and glanced at the stars before looking back to Nami. "Honestly, not as much as you'd think. Traveling the world doesn't compare to actually living in it. I have seen the world many times over, enough to have my fill, but this small island outshines that experience. It has been confusing, getting used to being a human, but it has also been very rewarding. I _–_ " Ace paused and took notice of his faint glow. "I love being here."

Nami smiled, relief radiating off of her and enveloping Ace in comfort. "I'm glad you're here too Ace, and that you love it here."

"Can I stay Nami?"

Nami reached out a hand and took Ace's into hers gently, allowing him to pull away at any moment he wished. He didn't.

"Of course you can stay. I want you to stay here, Ace. This is your home."

_...I wanna know_

* * *

**Bonus:**

Gold eyes glared in Ace's direction as a stranger with dark markings on his arms looked him over, his face unkind and seemingly tired.

"So," the man broke his silence, snapping Ace out of the trance caused by his eyes. Gold; who would have thought that was possible, then again Ace glowed sometimes so who was he to say anything. "You're the guy I've heard so much about. Ace, I presume, I am Law Trafalgar."

Ace took the hand that was offered to him and shook it with little hesitance. "Nice to meet you Law, I am Ace. How are you?"

Law smiled slowly and pulled his hand away after shaking Ace's, "I'm doing quite fine thank you for asking. I see my dear sister has finally picked one up with manners, how quaint. And you, Ace, how are you doing?"

Law's smile was odd to Ace, it was small and although not completely unsettling, it was definitely weird. The smile spoke of secret joke, something only he was privy to and wasn't willing to share with the world. But there was something else that was weird about him too.

Ace couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Law was definitely odd. In an attempt to grab a better understanding of things, Ace reached out and sought for a clue about what the other was feeling, only to come to a halt. Ace tilted his head slightly, his eyes brightening with curiosity as he probed a little harder and came up with the same empty results.

Law was a blank slate. There were no feelings for Ace to tune into, not even an inkling of emotion was available for Ace to grasp. That was definitely a first for Ace. He wondered how Law was able to hide his feelings so well, and briefly entertained the idea that Law knew of his ability, but Ace quickly set set those thoughts aside and returned the smile all the same. "I'm good too."

Law's eyes narrowed slightly, but the action was masked when he took his cup of tea and sipped.

Ace chewed on one of the cookies he and Nami had baked earlier that morning as he waited for Law to pick up the conversation again.

"I'm not a huge conversationalist." Law said suddenly, after setting his drink down. "Nami and Nojiko were always far more talkative, but I suppose you must've caught onto that by now."

Ace nodded, recalling the blue haired woman and her visits. "Nojiko is fun when she visits, she showed me how to play poker. She's scary good at it."

Law chuckled. "Yes, both of them are. They'll play you out of house and home those two, tell me what did she wager."

"Wager?" Ace asked with a tilt of his head. Wager was a more formal way of saying 'bet' and a bet was something that was risked in favor to an outcome of a game or event.

"Yes, wager. What did she put up for grabs during your game?" Law asked taking another sip of tea.

"We didn't bet." Ace gave a small shrug of his shoulder. "We just played until it was time to help with dinner."

"So you help Nami with dinner as well?"

Ace smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yeah, when Nami is making food and I'm not looking after Mandarin and Belle I help her with it. We both need to eat , so it's only fair that we both help with the cooking and dishes after."

Law hummed, but said nothing more on the matter and took a cookie himself, biting into it and chewing on it as he mulled over the information. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"I didn't?" Ace frowned momentarily and raised a shoulder yet again before dropping it in a shrug. "We haven't figured that out yet, Nami said I could stay until I remember though."

"So she does like you." Law hummed. "That's interesting to say the least. And you, Ace. What is your end game here? Why not seek your past while traveling, how will staying in a constant environment where the probability of a memory trigger to help you out are slim to none?"

Ace was caught like a deer in the headlights by Law's golden eyes as they searched his own for something he didn't quite understand.

It was like with Nojiko's first meeting all over again and Ace wanted to bolt _again_ , but he knew that unlike Nojiko Law might actually give chase. There was a sort of fierceness in Law that had until that point been very well hidden. It was bearing its teeth now, and it demanded answers.

"I have no where else to go." Ace finally replied. "And I like it here with Mandarin, Belle, and Nami."

"Why?"

Ace's comfort level was seriously dropping with every passing second but he stayed put and gave Law the only sincere answer he could. "I feel at home here."

For a moment it seemed that Ace had given the wrong answer, but just as quickly as the intense look had come over Law's eyes, it vanished without a trace and the man smiled pleasantly once more. "Good answer. Do keep in mind that Nami deserves nothing short of happiness in her life, and should anyone threaten that; let's just say your memory wouldn't be the only thing missing."

Ace gulped and nodded mutely.

"So, what's this I hear of your genius? Do tell me more about your schoolings." Law prompted, all earlier signs of threat erasing without a trace in sight.

* * *

**Thought I was done? XD lol nope, Bonus #2:**

Nami poked her head into Ace's room and frowned, "Not here either."

Leaning against the doorway she looked over the contents of the room. His bed was made, clothes were off of the floor, and his shoes were missing. The desk he had bought not too long ago was the only thing that wasn't fully cleaned. The surface of the small piece of furniture was littered with pencils, markers, pens, and a few brushes.

Nami guessed that Ace must've been working on another of his projects the night before. Still, it left her no clues as to where he was now. Which was odd since he usually told her where he was off to when he left the farm.

Nami wasn't too worried though, Ace was used to the island and the people, he was able to get around without any trouble and he knew how to interact with others. He had really grown to love the island and it's people.

Walking back down to the kitchen Nami began to cut up tangerines, their juice supply was dangerously low and all the essential chores she had on her list were finished. So she began her task, all the while thinking back to the conversation she and Ace had had on the roof a few weeks ago.

It was still miraculous to think that Ace was from somewhere entirely different, a star of all things. Nami smiled as she sliced another tangerine, she still found it odd that he had gone through all the trouble of getting to her farm just to see her smile and ease the loneliness that had become a constant in her life after the mistakes she had done. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't happy for the intervention.

Nami liked having Ace around, he had been hard to get to know at first with his limited knowledge of the world and it's mundane tasks. But he had adapted to life in the village quickly, and if Nami had never known of his origins, she would have never guessed that Ace was anything but another passing tourist that decided to stay.

Hours passed and still there was no sign of the freckled man, and Nami had to admit that the house was beginning to take on a sense of loneliness that it hadn't felt in over two years. It was unsettling to say the least. Nami gave Ace another three minutes before she stormed up the stairs and into her room where she looked for her coat and boots. She was going to head out and look for Ace.

She hoped he hadn't gotten himself into any trouble, and that if he had that it wasn't anything too huge.

Nami was about to open the door when it swung open and a large...bear? sauntred in.

Nami paused in her tracks as she looked at the five foot tall bear and worked to make sense of the creature standing in her doorway. "Wha–?"

"Do you like him?" Ace asked peeking his head above the large bear and grinning at Nami.

"What do you mean? Where did you get this Ace?" Nami asked looking from the bear to Ace and becoming even more confused.

"What do you mean what do I mean? He's yours!" Ace laughed and handed the bear over to a very confused Nami as she awkwardly took the bear into her arms. The soft 'fur' of the stuffed creature was very inviting and Nami absently snuggled into the bear that was only a couple of inches shorter than herself while still very much confused.

"Ah and as to where I got 'em, Genzo took me to the big city, he said that was the only place I could find this guy and then we went over to Little Garden and I got you these!" He explained happily and presented Nami with a bouquet of eleven roses that ranged in colors of red, orange, and some yellow and tipped with red.

"Isn't it cool? It looks like fire doesn't it?" Ace beamed, "The guy at the shop said they had meanings though, and that they were supposed to say that I care about you."

Nami's mouth had formed a small _O_ of surprise, she had learned of about a flower's meanings so long ago under Bellemere's care. She had known them so well that at some point in time she could have easily told Ace what each of them signified, but the words escaped her at the moment. The shop owner was right, of course, the flowers overall stated that the giver was trying to convey feelings of caring and love.

"They're beautiful Ace." Nami whispered as she admired the roses and warmth pooled in her cheeks, "but why did you go through so much trouble?"

"Because," Ace smiled sheepishly, his cheeks too glowing, but in that special way of his. "It's the 14th and I want to ask you to be my valentine." he said and presented her with another gift.

The tone behind those words made Nami's heart race in her chest as she reached out and took the card gingerly, while holding the bear in a headlock, and looked the small card over. It dawned on her than that this must've been what Ace had worked on the previous night and was the reason behind the small clutter at his desk.

The card of course was beautiful, as well as the roses and the gigantic teddy bear; but overall Nami loved his intentions the most. "Ace, these are beautiful. Thank you, and yes I would like to be your valentine."

Ace rubbed the back of his head still glowing softly and gave her one last present. A kiss to the cheek that further demonstrated his blossoming love for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Now I'm done lol. I hope you enjoyed it and even more so I hope you let me know what you think?
> 
> Show the freckled ship some love? [And by extension, the writer?]
> 
> And in any case anyone was wondering, to look up what sort of horses Belle and Mandarin are, Belle is a gray Spotted Shire draft horse, and Mandarin a brown Paint Horse*
> 
> I shall be back with another set of songfics in March, so look forward to that ;3
> 
> Till next time!~


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